Houston Rockets center Clint Capela will miss Wednesday night’s home game versus Miami due to an illness, head coach Mike D’Antoni confirmed during his pregame media session at Toyota Center.
The Rockets had previously listed the 6-foot-10 big man as questionable for the game during an update on Tuesday, citing illness.
It’s a major absence for the Rockets (11-6) against the Heat (11-4), who defeated Houston by 29 points earlier this month. The challenge could be made slightly easier, though, since Miami is likely to be without All-Star forward Jimmy Butler — who is dealing with an illness of his own.
With Capela out, the Rockets will start veteran center Tyson Chandler in his place — just as they did on Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, when Capela missed a pair of games with a suspected concussion. Third-year big Isaiah Hartenstein is likely to assume Chandler’s usual backup role.
Clint Capela is OUT tonight vs. Miami (illness), per Coach D’Antoni. Tyson Chandler will start.
— Cayleigh Griffin (@cayleighgriffin) November 27, 2019
The Rockets did win both of their prior games without Capela, and Hartenstein was impressive with 16 rebounds in 30 minutes at Minnesota. However, the Heat clearly represent a superior opponent relative to earlier victories over the Pacers and Timberwolves.
After Wednesday’s game, the Rockets don’t play again until Saturday night versus Atlanta — which should offer Capela ample time to recover.
The 25-year-old Capela is averaging 14.6 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 31.9 minutes per game this season, and he’s on a historic rebounding run with at least 19 boards in seven consecutive games.
Prior to Capela’s current streak, the only NBA player to have at least 19 rebounds in seven straight games was rebounding legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, who last did it in the 1994-95 season.
The only player in Rockets franchise history to have posted averages of at least 14 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks per game in a single season was Hakeem Olajuwon, who did it 30 years ago in the 1989-90 season.
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